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~~There have been some wonderful insights and sharing recently on this thread, most about why teachers might not answer questions or interact except in a kata fashion during class; why watching is also learning, etc. And I agree with nearly all of these sentiments BUT...the question was 'Are you encouraged to ask?'. No, I do not feel encouraged to ask. So by now I'd pretty much given up any idea of accessing my two teachers directly, although...

~~Just Monday I tested for ni-kyu and afterwards I was passing Sensei's desk and he called my name and gave me a big grin and thumbs-up. It seemed a window of opportunity so I asked him what I might focus on moving forward. We actually had a couple minutes of interesting exchange--first time in 7 years! So perhaps I won't completely give up